Book Description
Singer and Avery present in popular language supported by in-depth scientific evidence the compelling concept that global temperatures have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle. Unstoppable Global Warming explains why we're warming, why it's not very dangerous, and why we can't stop it anyway.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-10-17
Fred Singer tells it like it is. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for the facts of global warming rather than the hype.
Singer is truly a gem.
Enjoyable Read.......2007-10-16
Back in the late 70's when I was in college, I started out majoring in Environmental Earth Science. Before coming to my senses and switching to something more practical, one of the things I remember (besides those endless field trips measuring pollution levels in streams) was all of the talk about the impending next ice age.
Several pleasant decades of ignorance followed. In the last few years, I started comparing my recollections of those convincing lecturers with the human-powered global warming alarmists, now in fashion.
Funny how similar and tenuous their arguments seem to me.
Now about the book... As a non-scientist with a good grasp of the scientific method as well as physical processes, I found this an enjoyable, disciplined and methodic counterpoint to the Oscar-winning slideshow-think in the popular news outlets.
Unstoppable Global Warming - Singer and Avery .......2007-10-03
This is an excellent book that answers real questions and concerns about global warming. It counters the "sky is falling" syndrome propagated by those who do not know the real facts or insights related to the warming trends. The book focuses on adapting to a common cyclical environmental event versus approaches that are a waste of time trying to stop the warming. Overall the book is well written but is somewhat academic. There is a detailed effort to outline the warming trend with factual information and details. Is well worth the read.
A Must Read.......2007-10-02
Singer and Avery offered a well documented, heavily researched, and easily read analysis of the global warming issue.
Their conclusion: Yes, the earth is currently warming, however so slightly. No, man is not the cause of this warming. Rather, it is dependent upon 1,500 year climate cycles embedded within larger ice-age and non-ice-age shifts (which take millions of years, according to the authors). All of which is dependent upon the amount of the sun's radiance hitting the earth, which in turn varies upon the amount of solar winds intercepting said radiation. (Note: this is the summary of a layman, and is dramatically over simplistic.) This is supported by the analysis of literally hundreds of studies.
Accompanying the scientific support of the 1,500 year cycle and refutation of the greenhouse gas theory, Singer and Avery include a poignant and absolutely necessary look at the implications of acting upon the greenhouse gas theory. Truth in this issue is not a matter of simply proving one's point, of social/political standing, or of a voting platform, but one of life and death importance.
This being a heavily scientific book, perhaps "easily read" was an exaggeration. Rather, "well written" would suitably describe this readable, yet challenging book.
The authors, while being experts in the field of global climate studies, are not devoid of a sense of humor, one at which greenhouse gas theorists would certainly take issue.
The Amazon reviewer Crosslands sums up my personal opinion of this work well:
Pseudoscientists and others with a vested interest in controlling the global economy by use of the global warming hoax will not like this work. However informed readers concerned with human welfare and human progress will find this book invaluable. This book should be read by all Amercians and really by everone else in the world.
Global Warming Evaluation with Documentation.......2007-09-22
I have read this book thoroughly and enjoyed it very much. I was very impressed with the breadth, depth and documentation included with the book and range of topics presented by the authors. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in assessing the true status of the "Global Warming" Hypothesis.
Dr. James F. Howard, Ph.D.
Geo and Environmental Sciences
Book Description
Shattered Consensus: The True State of Global Warming convincingly demonstrates the remarkable differences between what we commonly read about global warming and what is really happening. Nine chapters describe major problems with computer simulations of future climate that are the basis for wrenching policies being proposed by world leaders. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a new appreciation of the complexity of the climate issue and will question the need for expensive policies that are likely to have little or no detectable effect on the planet's temperature. Published in cooperation with the George C. Marshall Institute.
Customer Reviews:
The inconvenient truth about An Inconvenient Truth .......2007-08-06
I highly recommend this book. But I suspect that this book will not appeal to most readers. There's none of the intense hyperbole that infects both global warming fanatics and many of their deniers. There are no grand apocalyptic scenarios that garner such strong public appeal. No terrifying future, no living on the brink of disaster. Only quiet nuanced science from those who spend their life in research. One suspects that the politics of global warming has now superseded the science and sad to say, when politics enters the room, truth shuffles its way into the background. This is unfortunate since there are many things about the environment with which we should be concerned - not the least being our consumption of non renewable resources. My fervent hope is that we can move past the exaggerated apocalypse of global warming while addressing the necessary issues of the environment - i.e., the rest of the environment aside from climate change.
In this case of Shattered Consensus, all ten contributors are scientists and experts in their field. Each chapter, and scientific report, covers a separate and distinct aspect of climate. This is really a collection of reports, not a coherent "story". Each contributor has their own style, some being more accessible than others. They present the science as they understand it and in that regard the average reader may find the information dry, or indeed undecipherable. Most of the ten authors include a short conclusion which may be helpful for those unwilling to plow through the science. Nonetheless the reader is left in the end overwhelmed not by the certainty of any position, but by the staggering uncertainty in all aspects related to this Earth's climate. Our ability to measure past trends in climate are dependent on woefully scant data. Our ability to project future trends have no unambiguous models yet. In fact, the variability of the results of the different models are so big as to render them basically useless for anything other than further research. They certainly shouldn't be used to make definitive statements as to future trends. The effects of CO2 are still highly uncertain with some models suggesting no impact and some observations linking CO2 to an indicator of climate change not a driver - i.e., CO2 changes as a result of climate change, not the other way around. Much more research is needed to understand why these discrepancies are observed. Even if global warming is happening, and even if CO2 is at least partly to blame, the impact of global warming in some scenarios is actually beneficial to not only humans, but to some species. Indeed, in all of Earth's history through warming and cooling periods, some species benefit and other lose.
The reader is left with the question, since scientists tell us that the unknowns vastly outweigh the things that are known about climate, what should our policy decisions making framework be based on. Is seems to me that we need to base it on what is known. Air quality, water quality, land use, availability of non renewable resources, are all things we can measure and for which policies can be made. Having a single enemy (CO2, in this case) is certainly more appealing and simple for the average consumer to understand. But simple is not always best.
It should be noted that none of these scientists is involved in the petroleum industry (a favorite disclaimer by those wanting to discredit the validity of anyone critical of global warming science). Some have even been involved in the IPCC directly (the UN Intergovernmental protocol on climate change). Scientists are by nature a conservative lot. A hypothesis lasts as long as the next set of experiments that disprove it, or tenuously as long as further experiments continue to confirm it. Most scientists don't seek a public profile and most are uncomfortable playing the role of a nay-sayer, especially in the face of such publicly popular resources as Al Gore's an Inconvenient Truth. I will rely on the scientific truth to work its way to the surface. I just hope we don't waste too much in the way of public funds on chasing windmills when there are so many important issues in this world that need attention.
Consensus? Right........2007-04-18
This book perfectly illustrates how there is dissent in the thinking of many climate scientists, showing information that proves there is no consensus, or at least none as to the overall causes, specific effects and actions to take on "anthropogenic global warming".
It's like the AAAS's 'Science' magazine publishing an op/ed in their "Essays on Science and Society" section by Naomi Oreskes (Associate professor of history and director of the Program in Science Studies at the University of California at the time). In that piece, it was reported an analysis was made of abstracts in the ISI database under science and with the phrase "global climate change" in them. The keywords specified in the op/ed 3 times were "climate change" (In another issue of 'Science' that was corrected to "global climate change". I would include that, but you have to join AAAS to get to it.) Her closing paragraph in the essay uses the words "anthropogenic climate change".
Although she takes quite a while to say it, in two or more convoluted paragraphs, she claims consensus because of the actions of some organizations; that we can prove statements and reports by the AMS, AGU, AAAS and others don't downplay legitimate disenting opinions, thus proving a consensus. I'm not sure I follow that train of logic, but there you go.
So, how does she "prove" it? By grabbing those publications that are in the ISI database that are in the science section and have abstracts that have the words "global climate change" in the abstract. Do those contradict what the organizations say? No? Consensus!
Not in ISI database? Not in science section? No abstract? Doesn't have "global climate change" in the abstract? Not looked at.
She does make two interesting points in her closing paragraph, although the two have nothing to do with each other. I've broken the paragraph into the two points; while the first is true, the second is not anything she's proven in the op/ed (although it seems she's hoping we will think so):
1. Many details about climate interactions are not well understood, and there are ample grounds for continued research to provide a better basis for understanding climate dynamics. The question of what to do about climate change is also still open.
2. But there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Climate scientists have repeatedly tried to make this clear. It is time for the rest of us to listen.
That op/ed, Richard Lindzen's op/ed in the WSJ and her rebuttal op/ed in the Washington Post, as well as letters between Roger Pielke Jr and her printed in 'Science' give even more light on the entire issue of the lack of a consensus and the lengths the cult of global warming will go to to keep everyone thinking there is. This book goes a long way towards fighting the misconceptions, and is an excellent strike in the battle against global warming propaganda.
[...]
Down with Globaloney.......2007-04-03
Point-by-point rebuttal of the fallacy of ''global warming''/''climate change'' brought about by human endeavors. Puts paid to AlGores' Oscar-winning docufantasy. Yes, all of us anti-global warming folks are in the pay of Giant Oil and the moral equivalent of Holocaust deniers. NOT!!! Your belief in half-baked computer models (as opposed to real-life atmospheric happenings) and over-blown do-gooder falsehoods doesn't make ''global warming'' a catastrophic happening.
Sample of Scientific Discussions.......2007-03-14
Interesting series of papers on topics of ongoing discussion regarding global warming. The title is a bit overblown, but I guess it matches the assumption, so often printed over and over in the media, that there is a consensus on global warming (or more correctly, human-caused global warming). There's lots of citations given and places to dig into this as deep as you want. I particularly like the part about trying to develop some sort of heat balance between the earth's surface, the various layers in the atmosphere, and the universe to which the earth radiates heat, and all the unexplained measurement error and missing information associated with that.
There was allusion to the plans to try to "Command and Control" the world's economy, based on averting global warming, basically concluding that nothing we can do will change the outcome much anyway, at least in any predictable way. It makes one wonder if the global warming phenomena is being used as a pretext to try "Command and Control" again. This book does not really get into that, but does give a taste of endless unresolved topics associated with global warming.
religion of enviromentalism challenged.......2007-03-01
any book that challenges to apriori assumptions of the enviromentalist religious dogma of man made global warming is needed. Al Gore and his celebrity loving, psuedo scientific friends need to be mocked for their hypocrisy and stupidity
Book Description
Former Vice President Al Gore's New York Times #1 bestselling book is a daring call to action, exposing the shocking reality of how humankind has aided in the destruction of our planet and the future we face if we do not take action to stop global warming. Now, Viking has adapted this book for the most important audience of all: today's youth, who have no choice but to confront this climate crisis head-on.
Dramatic full-color photos, illustrations, and graphs combine with Gore's effective and clear writing to explain global warming in very real terms: what it is, what causes it, and what will happen if we continue to ignore it. An Inconvenient Truth will change the way young people understand global warming and hopefully inspire them to help change the course of history.
Customer Reviews:
This one's for you, kids!.......2007-10-08
The book is broken down into fifteen chapters, culminating in a very optimistic "Crisis = Opportunity," and throughout the text Gore is trying to motivate and encourage the next generation to take up the cause of saving the planet. Gore's optimism makes the reader feel that every chance to turn off an unused light or refill your water bottle is going to make a difference. Peppered with historical facts and dates, and infused with quotes from Mark Twain to Carl Sagan, this effort at educating young adults about the effects of lifestyle choices will make an impact on future generations. I think it is important to empower young people with choice - and the ability to affect change. This would make for excellent required reading.
Nonsense.......2007-10-04
Al Gore has a miserable academic record. For all those still swooning from his "masterful" presentation, I suggest that anyone who flunks divinity school (all 'F''s) is hardly a guy whose opinion I would want on a topic as incredibly complicated as climate theory. Earth's climate is an infinitely complex nonlinear system that some human beings (in their pomposity) suggest that we can "model" and "solve" for the future. ANYONE who has worked with greatly linearized Navier-Stokes equations, that is, coupled integro-differential equations knows the folly and nonsense behind this blatantly political tripe. Al is just an ignorant mouthpiece for the political scientists of the UN IPCC. All of you that buy this nonsense need to go get an education and leave science out of this clearly politically motivated rant for attention by a guy disappointed that he lost the Presidential race. The science in this book is single sided nonsense.
Science, or hysteria ? .......2007-09-28
One core of Gore's position is that the oceans will rise by up to 20 feet, swamping coastal areas like Miami and New York.
This data is wildly off. Even the UN IPCC report states that oceans might rise by up to 17 inches (i.e., less than two feet). Where did Gore get his data ?
Gore has shown pieces of Antarctica breaking off and falling into the ocean. This looks dramatic, until you realize that this part of Antarctica has always done that, (grown and then broken apart), and represents the 3 % of that continent, which is not 1-mile + thick ice that is actually gaining in mass. 97 % of Antarctica is actually gaining mass. Gore chooses the 3 % of the continent that is not stable and then basically says "We did this with our SUVs and materialistic lifestyle".
The reality is that global warming is NOT the main issue of our times. Things like Africans dying of AIDs and malaria is, and can be dealt with far more efficiently, than throwing $ 5 trillion into the Kyoto Treaty, which would result in the global climate changing by about 0.3 degrees in 50 years (i.e. having almost no effect).
If you want a picture of the real state of the world, read the books by Prof. Bjorn Lomborg. Gore is a politician. Lomborg is a researcher.
Gore has admitted that he wants our generation to have a "mission". This issue, global warming, fits that. But that doesn't mean I have to go along. I personally think that global warming is a "rich man's issue". It is the kind of thing that people in Santa Monica and Martha's Vineyard and Boston care about, because they think that their beach villa might be swamped. The reality is, while we think about this, Africans are dying of AIDs. And we can help them today, by spending some money on it.
Is global warming an issue: yes. Is it the main issue of our time ? No. Of course, we should do what we can to help the planet and reduce our CO2 output. Lomborg suggests cost-effective ways to do that.
But claiming that New York City will be swamped when the ocean rises "20 feet" is just ridiculous. Trust me, land prices in 25 years along the coasts will have risen even higher than today (if Gore were right, we would see land prices plummet, because who wants to buy land that is under water) ?
By the way, I read someone that Gore's personal "carbon footprint" is something like 20 times higher than the average American. Liberals live under the motto: "do as I say, not as I do".
Have they made Gore a saint yet?.......2007-08-29
I have seen the DVD and obviously was impressed. I got the book because I wanted to be able to get more details on the information Al Gore presents on the DVD, and the book provides that abundantly.
This one lone man courageously and determinedly crusades on and on, in the past with little encouragement, to research global warming and the warn the world, at least those who will listen. Where are the scientists that (probably because of money under the table, so the speak) denied global warming for so long? Hard to do so now. Now the corporate-motivated trick is to deny that at least part of global warming is man-made, this in the face of mounting evidence.
If you have children, or grandchildren, my advice: Don't hide your head in the sand. You owe it to them to become informed.
Get this book or the DVD. Very well written, very well made.
A must read!.......2007-08-21
My first impression upon reading this book was utter amazement and fear. In fact, "An Inconvenient Truth" is billed as the scariest book you'll ever see. Could it be that life on Earth as we know it will end within the next 50 years? It did not take me long to feel that this may be the most important documentary of all time (and the scariest one)!
In this book, Al Gore draws attention to the crisis of global warming. Gore blames CO2 for the temperature hikes we are experiencing worldwide. This documentary is basically a filmed version of the lectures that Gore has presented over 1,000 times to audiences all over the world.
Gore left me no room for doubt regarding the reality of global warming as Earth's ultimate environmental crisis and eventual doom. I was fascinated and convinced by his thorough presentation. And I am not alone to feel this way. Here is what other reviewers on amazon.com have said about this book:
A. A must see; a must think.
B. The most important film I have ever seen.
C. Very important; watch & watch again.
D. What in the world are we waiting for?
E. Required Viewing.
F. Save this planet by individual action.
G. Eye-opening!
H. Al Gore is the smartest man on this doomed planet!
I. Great inspiring movie. Please see it and let's change the way we live.
J. The truth is very disturbing, but you need to see it.
K. Don't Blow it! Good planets are hard to find.
L. Spread the Truth.
M. A must see for every resident of planet earth.
N. Stunning! Seeing this film is one of the most important things you can do all year.
O. Only 50 years from now... If you LOVE your CHILDREN, do you part to help NOW!
Al Gore's message is quite clear: Our planet is dying due to the fact that the world is steadily getting warmer. The question is what does this mean for all of humanity and what can we do about it? This film argues the case that the effects of global warming will continue, and indeed steadily get worse.
As I was reading the reviews on amazon.com, I found more and more people disagreeing with Al Gore. Some accused him of political manipulation. He is instilling fear in us in order for us to vote for him on the next presidential race. In other words, unless we vote for him, global warming is going to get worse and the icecaps are going to melt and we are all going to die by drowning!
Some mistrust Gore. Some have exclaimed, "Isn't this the guy who said he invented the internet!?" Others believe that he is selling snake oil and that there is no truth in his claims. After all, they say, he is not a scientist. Shouldn't this documentary have been presented by a scientist? Furthermore, why did Gore not do something about Global Warming when he was vice-president and in a better position to do so?
Many scientists in fact argue that his facts are not sound and that there is no correlation between CO2 and global warming.
So which is it? Is Al Gore right and doomsday is within 50 years from now, or is this just an exaggeration and unsound science?
Now I am not a scientist and am very new to this subject. With that said, here is the other side of the coin:
(1) Gore says that Earth is heating up because of man-made pollutants, which are raising the level of CO2 in the air. This CO2 traps the radiated heat from the Earth, thus warming up our planet. However, not only is Earth heating up, but all of the other planets in the solar system as well. If this is so, then our man made CO2 emissions aren't the major reason for the heating of the planet. If you visit the NASA website, you'll see that the Martian ice caps are melting too! So what could be the reason for this global warming? The primary source of heat on Earth, or anywhere in our solar system, is the Sun. If it wasn't for the sun, Earth would be a ball of ice. Our Sun goes through cycles. The Earth warms or cools with increased or decreased solar activity in the sun. This is not hard to visualize since a slight change in the Sun's angle turns summer to winter or winter to summer, a difference of several degrees! Our sun could therefore be the main reason behind our global warming.
(2) The earth has had many cooling and warming cycles for thousands of years, long before man could possibly contribute to it. The planet has seen far more severe climate changes than what we might experience and such changes have neither destroyed the planet nor the life upon it.
(3) One volcanic eruption (such as Mt. Pinatubo's volcanic eruption in the 90's) causes far more pollution and Co2 gases than our industries. During the Gulf War in 1991, when Saddam Hussein set fire to the Kuwaiti oil fields, more pollutants had been released in the air in one go than in any other time in history.
(4) We exhale CO2! Does this mean in order to have less CO2 in the air we must have less people on our planet? We are presently 6 billion people on Earth, and this number is rapidly increasing.
(5) Sea level has been rising at a rate of 1.8 mm per year for the past millenniums. Many scientists believe that the worst case scenario is a 2 feet rise in sea level within the next 100 years! Gore believes that we will be seeing a sea level rise of 20 feet in the next 50 years.
In a nutshell, no one really knows enough about the global climate to really say what definitively will happen within the next 50 years. In fact, no one really knows what the weather will be in the next few days (`This will be a sunny weekend,' exclaims the weatherman, only to have a rainy weekend).
The best we can do is to listen to all sides of an issue and then come to an educated opinion of our own. We should not let others do the thinking for us. This doesn't mean we can keep polluting the air we breathe. Everyone should do their part in trying to keep the environment clean.
I certainly enjoyed reading this book. At least it got me thinking!
Book Description
Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast is a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of global warming. Written in an accessible way, this important book examines the processes of climate change and climate stability, from the distant past to the distant future.Examining the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, and what the future may hold for global climate, this text draws from a wide range of disciplines, and summarizes not only scientific evidence, but also economic and policy issues, related to global warming. A companion web site (http://understandingtheforecast.org) provides access to interactive computer models of the physics and chemistry behind the global warming forecast, which can be used to support suggested student projects included at the end of each chapter. Solutions and artwork from the book are available to instructors at www.blackwellpublishing.com/archer.Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast provides an essential introduction to this vital issue for both students and general readers, with or without a science background.
Customer Reviews:
Basic mechanisms demystified.......2007-05-23
There are some annoying typographical errors in this book, otherwise I would give
it five stars --- visit the book's website for a list of errata.
Plenty of books tell you about global warming, but this book really does
dymystify the nuts and bolts of how climate scientists know what they
say they know. The book says it is based on a course for non-scientists and
it shows --- the explanations are clearly honed from experience of explaining
scientific concepts to non-scientists. It is always difficult for scientists
in any field to convey the depth of knowledge which has accumulated over
a long period of time to people coming from other disciplines, but this book
does a pretty good job.
Excellent undergrad-level description of the climate.......2007-04-05
The climate books by Flannery, Kolbert, etc. tend to be anecdotal, with qualitative descriptions of how the climate works. While I think those books are valuable, what's been missing is a more technical description of the physics of the climate system that's accessible to people who aren't physics majors. This book is it. It serves as a bridge between the fully qualitative books and highly technical textbooks requiring calculus. There is some math in it, so math-phobes might approach it with caution. I think the book would be especially useful to scientists or grad students who want to know something about the climate problem, but don't want to invest a lot of time in reading dense textbooks or journal articles. I'm going to have my incoming grad students who did not major in atmospheric sciences read it in order to educate themselves quickly about the climate.
The next best thing to enrolling at U. of Chicago.......2007-02-25
I wish to commend this wonderful book written by my colleague, David Archer. The class upon which this book is based is a runaway success, and each year it seems they need to find a bigger lecture hall. When you have read the books like "The Weather Makers," and "Field Notes from a Catastrophe," and are ready for something more quantitative but still fairly gentle on the math, this is the one for you. I think it's the best source around for people who want to get a true scientific understanding of the physics and chemistry of climate change.
Great Book For Anyone! .......2006-09-21
I honestly believe that after reading this book, anyone will be able to confidently discuss global warming topics from an objective viewpoint.
Dr. Archer wrote this book after teaching a course with the same title for several years. His writing style is as great as his lecture style - non-intimidating, humorous, well-explained examples and analogies, and he teaches the science behind the famous words "global warming". There is no arm-waving or magical answer. The descriptive text encourages the reader to find answers themselves via simple calculations. In addition, several fun and relevant web-based models are included. For example, in one model, you can calculate how the earth's temperature may change if you increase the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. In another, you can play with the supply of fossil fuels and predict how long it will be before we run out.
I've been a teaching assistant to Dr. Archer for two years, and his lectures, which this book is partially based on, have helped students with no previous background understand the science behind global warming, and enjoy themselves while doing it. But as a graduate student, I still find myself consulting his book for general facts about the carbon cycle or atmosphere. It truly is a book that can be enjoyed at any level of background, especially today, when global warming is such a hot (no pun intended) topic. I've read the book each year, and look forward to reading it again. Definitely a great buy!
Book Description
Global warming has become the most important issue for the future of our planet, dominating news headlines and policy discussions. Stop Global Warming turns headlines into action, providing testimony of leading environmental activist Laurie David's own passionate work and showing how and why others (particularly young people) should get involved in this and other environmental issues. In accessible and inspiring prose, David explains that Global warming is not an opinion but a scientific reality, one that policy makers by and large have failed to address. Interspersed throughout the text, short statements by celebrities such as John Mayer and Jack Johnson, along with average Americans, will reinforce why halting global warming is so important to our future. An important book that will cause you to think more about our planet and change your habits, Stop Global Warming is required reading for the 21st century.
Customer Reviews:
Very Interesting Read.......2007-03-22
I recieved a signed copy of the book from Laurie David herself and I was instantly hooked from the forward onwards. While most of what she suggests we do to stop global warming is common sense, it's very interesting nonetheless. She clearly shows much passion for this cause and I d as well.
too basic.......2007-03-19
I had been hoping for some more creative ideas. The book was fairly preachy about the need to combat global warming but since I was already concerned enough to buy the book I didn't need to be further convinced. Plus, the solutions the book proposed were so basic that unless energy conservation was a totally new concept to the reader there was nothing new. I was very disapointed and if it wasn't for the energy I would use in sending the book back I wouldn't have kept it.
Totally misleading.......2007-02-15
Well, first of all, with China and India the two biggest nations, and the two fastest developing nations, who are both exempt from any Kyoto protocols, building coal power generation plants and buying oil as fast as they can, one thing is completely certain:
All of us in the developed nations can reduce our CO2 emmissions to ZERO without having the slightest effect on the current rate of increase in Greenhouse gasses.
But why do we take it on faith that we would even want too?
The paleoclimatological evidence points out two very significant periods in history since the end of the last Ice Age where the earth was very warm. In each case it was a wetter world. When the first of those periods ended, the Saharan lakes dried up, the flourishing civilization there was scattered, and the Sahara desert was born. In the most recent cooling, the most advanced civilization in North America, the Anasazi, was also destroyed. That cooling period, which we know as the Little Ice Age, may have also wiped out the Mayans, but certainly destroyed the Viking colonies in Greenland when they could no longer grow crops there, and caused the many scattered lakes that dotted the Arabian Penninsula to dry up.
There a few scattered exceptions, but the overall evidence is that these were global effects that made for wetter conditions and were of vast benefit to man.
So is there any evidence that the current warming trends might be making the same alterations to the rainfall in drought stricken areas? Indeed yes. Type in Sahel and rainfall in any search engine to see what is beginning to happen (the Sahel is sub Saharan Africa, where the photos of emaciated babies come from). It's starting to RAIN!
So before you try to save the beaches at Malibu and Martha's Vinyard, think of the poor people in Darfur, and how great it would be if this respite from decades of horrible drought wasn't "fixed" before it really got going.
A Great Inspiration as to What EACH of Us Can Do!.......2007-01-20
I picked up this book at the library's NEW section...What a find! Ever since I saw Gore's movie, I've been very troubled about Global Warming...it trumps all other problems on the planet if it destroys the planet! (duh!). The other day I answered a telephone poll as to "what do you feel is the biggest problem facing the world today?" When I answered "Global Warming!" The pollster sounded surprised, like she'd never heard that as an answer before and said, "What?" Global Warming, I repeated. "I'm sorry, did you say, you think _'Global Warming'_ is the biggest problem facing the World today?" "Yes!" I said. Geez, is that so far fetched?
So obviously, despite Gore's fascinating and convincing movie...it still needs more publicity, which, thankfully Laurie David continues to provide in this gem of a book.
My daughter asked the other day, "Mom, what can we do to stop global warming?" Well, now I can quickly offer some tangible things beyond the usual...recycle, drive less, walk more, turn off the lights...because Laurie offers so much more insight as well as many more ideas. She concedes that if we do one thing thinking we're helping, like request paper(uh oh, it cuts down virgin trees)or plastics (Akk! they're made with petroleum oil), she points out alternative consequences can be just as bad on the environment-- so most of all we need to demand recycling be made easy for EVERYONE.
We need to demand leadership from politicians to look for real, long term solutions! Since she wrote the book, thank God we have a new (dem.) chair of the Senate's Environment & Public Works Committe who recognizes the reality of Global Warming. The last, Sen. Jim Inofe(R-OK) refused to accept the science, he instead "led" the Committee into waiting for more evidence! Which sounds a lot like President Bush, who is too closed minded to even watch Gore's movie.
As Laurie notes: Republicans/Democrats/Independents, we ALL need to take action or we will destroy much of the earth in as little as (she predicts to help us get off our butts) 5 more years (judging by the faster- than-expected-rate the polar ice caps are melting).
Laurie, if you're reading this review (and all other interested in finding solutions to the CO2 emmission asap) PLEASE check out a book on the Combustion Engine by Edwin Black. Laurie, I had the same SUV revelation you described when I heard him speak about his new book on CSPAN radio the other evening. But you, Laurie have the power/credibility/connections to do for him what you did for Al Gore's slide show. It could be another, even higher, high point of your career...and just might save the Earth.
I mean who has heard of Edwin Black? Obviously he does not have the name recognition or get the publicity Gore does, though he's been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize 10 times.
Anyway, Black tells FASCINATING, little known tales --going all the way back to ancient civilization--as to how we came to our oil dependency for transportation in the first place which gives so much power to middle eastern states (you may have read in Fast Food Nation how corporate greed destroyed California's clean, cheap trolley system? But did you know that the _original_ clean electric "horseless carriage" invention was discarded in favor of noisy, dirty gasoline burning engines because the dirty, faster going engines were considered more "manly" and it took brute strength to crank them... while the sissy "ladies" electric cars started with just the touch of a button?
And that Thomas Edison was collaborating with Ford on a clean transportation solution and was on the verge of introducing it to clean up all the soot cars were leaving everywhere, when rivals, who favored the dirty engines for economic reasons, burned down (despite fireproof walls!) workshop!
But most important, Black has a very plausible Green Fleet idea: if corporate fleets (Fed Ex, UPS, Postal Services) DEMAND electric cars--he warns that hybrids only postpone the problem--that are NOT oil dependent--the motor companies will build them so fast our heads will spin!
Please check it out, Laurie. It is such an inspiration to me that you've done so much to educate me and millions like me who didn't have a clue.
Thanks for this book and for putting Global Warming on the front page! Please keep going! (P.S. I loved your dedication. I guess we all need to thank Larry David for telling you it would be "Easier to change the world than me!" :)
Weak effort.......2006-12-30
We recently heard Laurie David speak and purchased this book later. I can't say we got much out of it. First, I guess you can say it is compact, but that is because there are only 54 pages of content. Second, if you've not lived in a cave for the last year, you have to be somewhat familiar with the basic issue of global warming. I recognize that is largely due to Laurie's role in An Inconvenient Truth, a defining event in raising public conciousness.
Short advice, spend you money on a donation to NRDC or buy World Changing and skip this book.
Book Description
Global warming and the resulting climate change is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the world community. Global Warming: the Complete Briefing is the most comprehensive guide available to the subject. A world-renowned expert, Sir John Houghton explores the scientific basis of global warming and the likely impacts of climate change on human society, before addressing the action that could be taken by governments, by industry and by individuals to mitigate the effects. The first edition received excellent reviews, and this completely updated new edition (taking account of the latest IPCC Assessments, and now including questions at the end of chapters) will prove to be the best briefing the student or interested general reader could wish for.
Download Description
Global warming and the resulting climate change is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the world community. Global Warming: the Complete Briefing is the most comprehensive guide available to the subject. A world-renowned expert, Sir John Houghton explores the scientific basis of global warming and the likely impacts of climate change on human society, before addressing the action that could be taken by governments, by industry and by individuals to mitigate the effects. The first edition received excellent reviews, and this completely updated new edition (taking account of the latest IPCC Assessments, and now including questions at the end of chapters) will prove to be the best briefing the student or interested general reader could wish for.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent resource if you want to know the facts on global warming and climate change.......2007-05-20
I have just gotten half way through this book but am already finding it an excellent source of background information on global warming and climate change. It has a lot of technical information but is written at a level that most people can understand. I'm using it to prepare for a community education class I'll be teaching and finding it most helpful with facts on the science behind global warming. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to delve into the reasons behind what you're hearing in the news. The author is an internationally recognized expert and obviously knows what he's taking about. The book it written in a well balanced way pointing out the uncertainties and sticking to the facts. I'm looking forward to completing the rest of the book this week.
Here is the review I made on this book for class - Umass Boston........2007-05-03
The book "Global Warming: The Complete Briefing, Third edition" by John Houghton is a great guide to understanding how global warming works and how it affects us.
It offers many details and explains how much of the Earth climate phenomena work, and how human activity is altering Earth's climate. In this book review, I will go through the book and discuss what the strong points of each chapter were. I will end up the review by discussing the book's relevance to the class and offering a few suggestions.
Chapter 1, Global Warming and Climate Change, offers a great introduction to the book by explaining the concept of global warming. It talks about how, every year, human activity adds up more emissions of green house gases into an atmosphere that already contains 7 thousand million tones of carbon dioxide. The part that I consider the most helpful is figure 1.5 which talks about how climate change is integrated with human activity. This integration consists of Emissions and Concentrations of Greenhouse gases that lead to Climate Change, which Impacts Human and Natural systems. The diagram closes the loop by illustrating how Socio-economic developments can lead to mitigating the Emissions and Concentrations of Greenhouse gases. In many ways, this is the purpose of this book, to make people understand that it is up to us to develop Socio Economic paths to make use of our technology and governance to control the problem of Global warming. This is also the basis for Sustainable Development.
Chapter 2, The Greenhouse Effect, focuses on explaining the Greenhouse Effect in great detail. The strong points of this chapter are the diagrams presented in figure 2.2 and 2.6. Figure 2.2 shows an actual greenhouse and explains that the roof of the greenhouse keeps the sun rays from escaping easily, hence increasing the temperature. Figure 2.6 shows the Earth's "radiation budget" this puts into perspective how the clouds, the atmosphere and greenhouse gases all play roles in how much radiation from the sun is reflected back out into space, and how much is actually bounced back to Earth and remains as heat.
Chapter 3, The Greenhouse Gases, is about the various gases that induce global warming. The important part of this chapter is that it lets us know how much of each gas counts as a greenhouse gas. This is important for us to measure how much human activity accounts for global warming. The chapter explains that Carbon Dioxide is the main component of greenhouse gases and most of this gas is the result of human activity. Figure 3.1 is rather complicated, but it does a good job in explaining how the global carbon cycle is accumulating carbon in the atmosphere because the Earth can not readily soak up the extra carbon being produced by human activity. This is a key element for us to realize the extent of the problem that we have here. The yearly accumulation of Carbon in the atmosphere, as Carbon Dioxide, makes the problem harder to solve as time goes by.
Chapter 4 is called Climates of the Past. This chapter contains the most relevant piece of evidence to Global Warming, which is figure 4.1 - Global Temperature from 1861-2003. This figure presents evidence that the globe is warming up to higher temperatures during the last 75 years. The importance of this warming trend is because it coincides with the increase in using fossil fuels during the 20th Century. This figure shows that global warming is not part of a natural cycle but it is the result of human activity. Chapter 4 continues to describe the climate as far back as thousands of years, giving information pertaining the Vostok and Greenland records.
Chapter 5, Modeling the Climate, explains how weather forecasting, and other natural phenomena, such as the Ocean's circulation belt. The oceans circulation was the point that I found the most interesting as it pertains thermohaline circulation, as seen in the movie The Day After Tomorrow. The models described in this chapter mentions that, global warming and polar caps melting will weaken the thermohaline circulation and this will result in various climate effects such as colder temperatures for Europe and altering agricultural zones.
Chapter 6 is called Climate Change in the 21st Century and Beyond. The importance of this chapter is that it presents the estimated temperature forecasts for the next century. Figure 6.4 is also included in the movie An Inconvenient Truth as the "Hockey Stick Graph" - which shows an extreme increase in temperatures for the next 100 years, if the current warming trend continues and CO2 emissions are not substantially reduced.
Chapter 7, Impacts of Climate Change, shows the biggest problems we will face due to global warming. The most interesting information on this chapter is Desertification, because we can already see the multiple effects of this problem every time we hear about the Genocide in Darfur, which was catalyzed by famines that resulted from changes in the region's climate. The effects of desertification are also explained on this chapter under a section called "Impact on agriculture and food supply."
Chapter 8, Why Should we be Concerned?, allows us to study the concept of "Earth", and how culture plays a role in people's reaction and interaction with "Earth". The strength of this chapter is the ability of the author to convey the message that we should not separate religion from science if we really want to "Save the Earth." Instead the author's message is that we should develop Environmental Values and become Stewards of the Earth.
Chapter 9 is called Weighting Uncertainty. The basic idea behind this chapter is that the IPCC has been having problems in the past by not being able to tell people that Global Warming is 100% a result of Human activity. The idea of Sustainable Development is discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 10 is called A Strategy for Action to Slow and Stabilize Climate Change. The Montreal and Kyoto Protocols are talked about in this chapter. This chapter is a great reference to efforts that have been taken by the World Governments to deal with Global Warming.
Chapter 11 is called Energy and Transport of the Future. The most important aspect of this chapter is the discussion of the Future energy projections. Figure 11.4 and 11.5 show the different scenarios of what may happen in the next 100 years if the world chooses to use renewable energy or not. The significance of these figures is that they provide a reference for us to evaluate what may happen if things stay as they are. If the world does not choose renewable energy, the energy consumption is expected to be twice as much as it is today. This is the expected energy consumption presented in scenarios A & B, and this, not using renewable energy as is our status quo, would result in major catastrophes, widespread desertification, water shortages and limited agricultural zones. Figure 11.4 & 11.5 also give us scenario C, in which mainly renewable energy sources are used, this being the most promising scenario. The chapter also discusses Building efficiency, alternatives to transportation and energy production, all key to sustainable development.
The book offers high detail and complexity on every chapter. I think that the depth of this book makes it a very effective tool for anyone interested in climate change, possibly all of us. However, since the different climate mechanisms: patterns and phenomena, which are intrinsically complex, made it difficult for me to embrace all the concepts and theories as a whole. Perhaps the book should be studied as a year long course which would go into the depth that is required to understand the complexities of the book. Another way to solve this problem is for the book itself to have a summary or an author's perspective of how he sees the various different climate mechanisms, as "interacting with" and "affecting" each other. I believe that these interactions and effects can result in, either a worsening or lessening of the current climate change trends and this is not explicitly considered in this book, or perhaps, I missed.
Global Warming Explained.......2007-04-22
The book that I read is the second edition. Because the book is priced at $50+ I chose to do an interlibrary loan instead of purchasing a new copy.
Houghton takes a genuine and direct approach in his book. Indeed it is the complete briefing as advertised. The book starts from the very beginning by explaining the basics on greenhouse gases. The book doesn't get deep into molecular theory. A rounded presentation is given on what greenhouse gases do to the atmosphere and moves into why it is important to address the threat. It finishes by suggesting alternative energy sources.
While I'd like to recommend the book, you could spend the money to outfit a home in fluorescent lighting.
Fair, balanced, scientific, non-partisan, clear........2006-07-13
I have to take immediate issue with the [anonymous] reviews below that claim that this book doesn't address the difference between natural climate cycling and anthropogenic climate change: that difference, in a nutshell, is PRECISELY what this book deals with. Those reviewers never read it, or failed completely to follow its line of reasoning. This is NOT a partisan, political, ideological book. It is simply a guided tour of the science of climate change, revised in 2004. It carefully parses the current research. Read the table of contents [you can click on it at the top of the page] and see that the book is organized around the following inevitable questions: Is climate changing? How much is it changing? How much of that change is caused by people? What are the likely effects, short- and long-term, of these changes? What can we do about it? In the case of climate change, despite all of the political complications that have accrued to what was originally science, these questions are PRECISELY the ones a thinking person needs to ask. To have a book structured around them, referring, as it does, to the best [scientific, independently-refereed] research is a gift. It seems that almost everybody today picks their position on climate change as part of an ideological package-deal: most American conservatives almost automatically disdain the science because the Bush White House and Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter disdain it. Most American progressives almost automatically embrace the NOTION of climate change without actually knowing the science, because Al Gore, et al, have told them to. Both positions, taken in ignorance of the science, are ideolgical and symptomatic of the worst party-line politics. I urge you to read the science. It will take some effort, but that effort is our civic duty. This book has no agenda other than compiling the research and putting it before the reading public in an accessible format.
Excellent Science made intelliglble.......2005-01-06
I am not a climatologist - I studied physics and math - but it is clear that this man is an expert in his field. The book was very favorably reviewed by other climatologists and is convincing if you have the patience to follow the science. it is not "for Dummies" but looks very solid. Highly recommended if you don't mind charts and scientific explanations. If you can read Scientific Amercian you will find this an easy read.
The conclusions are very objectively understated which only makes them more scary:
1 billion people displaced by floods and rising seas from some of earth's most fertile areas; increasingly violent, larger and more frequent storms; a new ice age for northern Europe; the American midwest and California's Central Valley becoming desert; major edible fish supplies running out; massive flooding of areas that have never been flooded before; major river arteries like the Mississippi and Missouri no longer being navigable.
For an example of what man can do to affect climate, take a look at Tuscon, AZ. Before whites started intensive grazing after 1860 it was grassy, with humid Summers and temperatures in the 80s. After grazing denuded the grass, it became the desert it is now with Summer temperatures over 100 by morning and periodic flash flooding. Nothing grows there now except cactus.
The species that humans are currently endangering with their "head in the sand" approach is [...] sapiens, but after that species is gone things will return to normal. Stupidity is not a survival trait.
Book Description
In the global-warming debate, definitive answers to questions about ultimate causes and effects remain elusive. In
Global Warming: Myth or Reality? Marcel Leroux seeks to separate fact from fiction in this critical debate from a climatological perspective. Beginning with a review of the dire hypotheses for climate trends, the author describes the history of the 1998 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many subsequent conferences. He discusses the main conclusions of the three IPCC reports and the predicted impact on global temperatures, rainfall, weather and climate, while highlighting the mounting confusion and sensationalism of reports in the media. After taking a hard look at the reality of the greenhouse effect, the â€~evidence’ from climate models, and the models’ limitations, Leroux postulates alternate causes of climate change and analyzes the trends for global temperatures, rainfall patterns, and sea level. He poses the â€~heretical’ question if warming may be considered a benefit in some regions. Finally Leroux suggests a number of priorities for climatologists to better understand processes of climate change, to integrate them into climate models, and to predict accurately future changes in climate. This timely and controversial book lays out the scientific case of the sizable skeptical scientific community who challenge the accepted wisdom.
Customer Reviews:
A MUST read........2007-08-02
Anyone who claim having an opinion on the issue of Anthropogenic Global Warming cannot ignore this book. This is no journalist romanced account nor a guru dire predictions. This is a scientific demonstration based on observations and accute scientific understanding and reasonning. It should be in every school library and science teachers should have read it answer students' question with knowledge. True it is not light reading but there is no other way to explain the fundamentals of atmospheric circulation, its relation to climates and expose the perversions of cooky cutter science. Should you read one book, this one is the one.
Analysis not Rhetoric.......2007-01-03
Aside from the first four chapters (which provide an excellent, if strident, history of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), this is a thorough text book on climate analysis for the layman. It develops a cogent theory of how the atmosphere works and explains each of the issues involved from the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, the tilt of the poles, the impact of the solar cycle, to a detailed look at the defects in climate modeling and how one might expect the atmosphere to react if, indeed, the earth were warming or cooling. Great care is taken to explain the impact of each of the green house gases (including the most significant, water vapor, and how its omission from IPCC studies impacts the conclusions). Not light reading, but well worth the effort.
Book Description
The time is right for this comprehensive guide separating the facts from the fiction about global warming-and how it affects ecological, sociological, and economic environments worldwide.
€ Features explanations of the meteorological variables of climate change, such as El Nino and the ozone layer
€ Covers Earth's past warming and cooling cycles, and how human activity has affected this natural pattern
€ Includes up to date discussions of the Bonn and Kyoto treaties
Customer Reviews:
A Good Starting Point.......2005-08-24
This book is a good introductory text for those who want to know more about the complex topic of climate change and "global warming". The book is easy to read and educational for those starting out in their examination of the field, though further reading on this topic will show that some of the core premises of the book are more contentious than the author seems to think.
A list of further readings is provided, though there are no sources listed for the arguments made by the aurthor, which can make it difficult for those who want to do their own fact-checking or to canvass alternative opinions. However, a whole (short) chapter is devoted to arguments against the impact of man and is consequences on the environment.
Unfortunately, like many modern texts on climate and the environment, the author seems wedded to the concept of biocentrality and "steady-state" systems, with no examination of the merits or pitfalls of such a position.
Still, overall, this book provides a good introduction to the general concepts and arguments around man's impact on global climate.
Some decent basic information but clearly biased. .......2005-05-06
This book has some good basic information but the author
isn't really interested in having anyone read views that
don't buy everything the leftist NGOs or the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations)
say (he states panelists are all "climatologists" which isn't true). He also states 100 Nobel Prize winners see global warming as a big problem caused by the "wealthy few." But most of these "winners" are not climate scientists and the Nobel Committee is very leftist oriented. In fact, the wealthier nations have the improving environments while poorer, socialist and communist nations (such as Zimbabwe) are usually worsening. His references for further reading don't include even one
so-called "skeptic" about global warming but includes Paul Ehrlich whose predictions have often been wrong. In the text, he briefly discusses Bjorn Lomborg with the clear implication he ISN'T an "environmentalist" which I doubt is true. He then doesn't bother to list Lomborg in the Index nor does he list the book as one to read though it has been widely praised. In his list of "Concerned Organizations," he lists every leftwing NGO but not one from those who have questioned the standard orthodoxy such as Cato or the American Enterprise Institute.
So, if you are interested in reading both sides of this issue,
here some suggestions for starters:
BOOKS: "The Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol," David Victor, Stanford University, published by the Council on Foreign Relations. "The Satanic Gases" and "Meltdown"(2004), Dr. Patrick J. Michaels, Univ. of Virginia. "The Environmental Case for Nuclear Power," Robert C. Morris. "The Heated Debate," Dr. Robert C. Balling (also co-authored "Satanic Gases"). "Ecoscam" and "Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths," Ronald Bailey. "Why Geography Matters" by Harm de Blij, noted geographer. "The Life and Death of Planet Earth" by Ward and Brownlee, Univ. of Washington. "Frozen Earth" by Douglas McDougall, U.C.-San Diego. "Hoodwinking the Nation" by Julian Simon and Lomborg's book which is simply amazing ("The Skeptical Environmentalist").
WEBSITES: www.sepp.org; www.worldclimatereport.com; www.techcentralstation.com/environment; www.envirotruth.org; www.lomborg.com; www.cato.org; Michael Crichton's website. There are many more but these are a good start.
Book Description
The earth is getting hotter, and not just in the summer.
The climate of your own hometown is changing.
But why is this happening, and can we stop it?
Read and find out!
Customer Reviews:
A great, current book for children.......2007-05-15
I used this book for a unit I taught recently on natural resources and conservation, and my second graders loved it! One of the few books on the subject geared toward younger children, this book does a great job of presenting global warming in simple, kid-friendly terms without distortion. The fun and accessible illustrations are very engaging; my students spent several minutes just examining the page with plankton and other sea life. They came away from the book with both a sense of urgency about the topic and the conviction that they can do something to help.
Excellent Science Resource for Young Readers..........2006-12-05
Global warming is a scary topic for a children's book, but one that children need to know about. In WHY ARE THE ICE CAPS MELTING, author Anne Rockwell writes about this topic in a voice that children can understand. Ms. Rockwell explains why the ice caps are melting, what global warming is, what the greenhouse effect is, and most important of all, she tells children what they can do to help stop this from happening.
Written in a friendly, mentoring style, WHY ARE THE ICE CAPS MELTING will inform children while fostering a good attitude towards conservation and our environment. Illustrated with cute, but educational, pictures from talented artist Paul Meisel, WHY ARE THE ICE CAPS MELTING takes children on a journey that will affect them the rest of their lives. After all, we all share this planet, and will for the rest of our lives.
Kudos to Ms. Rockwell for tackling such a tough subject and breaking it down to make it easily understandable to our most important audience! This book is an excellent resource, one that can easily be used to teach children basic science concepts about global warming.
Book Description
Greenhouse is the illuminating history behind a scientific idea that fills's today's headlines. Christianson, author of Edwin Hubble: Mariner of the Nebulae, blends the research of a scholar with a novelist's storytelling skill. As the full range of its elements come into focus, global warming becomes both a memorable human drama and an integral part of our planet's history. An essential book for anyone interested in the history of science and the very nature of scientific inquiry and speculation.
Customer Reviews:
Story that never travels far enough into science.......2006-02-11
I agree with other reviewers that Gale E. Christianson can wave a tale, and the first half of the book describing Darwin's works, the growth of the global warming theory, and on into our modern days is interesting. The second half, however, becomes an incredibly biased side to what ultimately is nothing more but another nice little story. Well, let me rephrase that: a new disaster tale spun to look like a scientific study.
Much of Christianson's take on explaining global warming is by using this formula: present a little bit of proof, then go on for the next few pages presenting horrible images of what might happen IF global warming happened. Christianson will name-drop tropical storms and talk about the damage they caused, but presents little evidence about why, exactly, (save for one or two facts from the same group of sources) the actions are related. For example, on page 233 she mentions Typhoon Winnie hitting China. And that's pretty much all she says. Typhoons hit mainland Asia every year, what makes Typhoon Winnie that big change that meant global warming was present? Christianson could explain that, but instead we get more details on the carnage of what would happen to the forests, the trees, the animals - not happening right now, mind you, but IF global warming occurred. And when she does mention what is happening, it is so wildly exaggerated I almost want to laugh out loud. When she discusses fish disappearing in the Atlantic Ocean she says that the explanation is overfishing and pollution (which even most environmentalists attribute it to) Christianson adds there are other reasons owing "to more vague and subtle forces that seem beyond individual control." This is a very vague and poor connection between overfished sea populations and global warmings. What's even more sad is that Christianson even records on page 234 a statement by pro-global warming scientists that "they are not able to say that any single weather event is the result of global warming." When Christianson tries to disprove the critics, she gets so borderline sarcastic and haughty I almost stopped reading. Most of it is half-hearted attempts at insult towards S. Fred Singer, the major opponent to global warming, but she can't contradict some of his arguments that even global warming advocates have conceded too. For example, we can't tell how long human-made CO2 spends in the atmosphere - Christianson probably knows this herself, and so instead of proving Singer wrong chooses to, yet again, go on another narrative of death and destruction, talking about how people will die of heat exhaustion if the temperatures rise. (pg. 251)
There are better books out there, even for those supportive of the idea of global warming and the greenhouse affect. I might suggest "The Change in the Weather" by William K. Stevens, which is pro-global warming but looks at both sides of the debate equally, and also goes more in-depth to the facts behind the problems so you can decide for yourself. I wouldn't suggest reading this book unless you already are a firm believer and just need something to nod your head to.
Fascinating Historical & Current Global Warming Overview .......2005-04-23
Dr Gale Christianson, a Distinguished Professor of Arts and Science and a history teacher at Indiana State U. is well suited to write on the history and science of global warming. This book is a one-stop-shop for all aspects of global warming and is approachable by a general audience.
I just knew this would be a good read by his quote from William Shakespeare, The Tempest: "HOW CAM'ST THOU IN THIS PICKLE?" (page before the index).
Indeed! How did we find ourselves in the 21st century- the supposedly enlightened times of vast scientific knowledge about the effects and dynamics of just about everything, sweating-out the rapidly increasing global temperature and it's deleterious effects on all life? Currently, the problem is not science, for as we see in this comprehensive study of global warming, the issue has been on the table for centuries and that part is fascinating!
Christianson has done a remarkable job of assembling a wide range of historical data on the effects of global warming from early Europeans to the American Indians and more.
The on-set of the industrial revolution kicks the study into high gear and biologist, anthropologist, meteorologist, historians, et al., will no-doubt appreciate the wide perspective.
The current debate about whether the daily activities of now billions of humans can alter the climate, let alone environmental processes, has become a ludicrous statement about our collective penchant for denial as the operative factor in approaching (or resisting approaching) this critical stage in our evolution.
Of course we can and do effect the climate- 6+ billion of any sizable mammal can do that and while doing nothing more than breathing, eating and defecating! Of course, we humans do a heck-of-a-lot more. Virtually everything we do creates heat and the worst forms of it are those that contribute to the greenhouse effect by sending heat trapping carbon dioxide into the air.
And who is willing to stand-up in the face of a preponderance of historical and current data on human caused global warming, anymore? Looking at those whose activities earn lots of money from producing greenhouse gases certainly have a financial stake in denial, but how about those anthropocentrics who think we humans are infallible and can do no wrong? Sheesh!
Whatever camp one is in, this book will demonstrate the science of global warming in all aspects and hopefully, with this knowledge, we begin to do something historically different- alter our ways! Like an ancient Chinese Proverb states, "If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." And in this case, it's toast! (Proverb seen in Duane Elgin's book, "Promise Ahead").
Excellent book on a sobering subject.......2003-11-28
I highly recommend this well-written, exhaustively researched history of global warming. The author takes us on the path of energy use by Western societies, in particular Britain and Europe, that began about 200 years ago with the insatiable burning of coal. Back then, for a while, at least, people acted out of ignorance when it came to consuming carbon-generating energy sources, although the asphyxiating fogs that beset some British cities ought to have been a wake-up call at the time. Today, according to the author (and I agree), there is sufficient evidence that we are continuing to warm the planet at an alarming, unsustainable rate. Christianson offers a balanced, intellectual rather than emotional treatment of the greenhouse gas emission issues. I pray that at least some of the world's leaders in government and industry read this book, or allow themselves to be influenced by others who accept Christianson's story and what it portends.
Science as storytelling.......2002-08-11
Gale Christianson has made the science of global warming and climate change accessible to the general public with his book "Greenhouse." He has a knack for bringing the quirky personalities of the many scientists involved in the discovery of the greenhouse effect to life. He helps the reader easily understand the significance of each scientist's contribution and makes their scientific inquiries read like a great mystery novel.
Gale's synthesis of material is creative. He includes the story of the Anasazi of the American southwest, the Viking settlement in Greenland and others when discussing the impact changing climactic conditions have had on humans in the past. The author includes profiles of scientists who theorized and then later documented the greenhouse effect (such as Svante Arrhenius) as well as the entrepreneurs whose inventions have contributed significantly to the problem (such as Ford).
The author addresses the issue of why the earth experienced a slight cooling trend from the 1940s to the early 1970s, prior to the more recent period of steadily rising temperatures: the period in question witnessed twice the normal amount of volcanic activity, which helped block sunlight from reaching the earth.
The evidence cited by the author strongly suggests that the earth is warming due to human activity. Yet, Christianson inexplicably accords the well-known greenhouse skeptic Fred Singer's criticisms of greenhouse theory more respect than this coal and oil industry-funded mouthpiece deserves. If the author did this in order to appear objective, he did so at the cost of confusing corporate propaganda with real science.
In fact, my criticism of the book is that it contains precious little analysis. Christianson is a gifted storyteller, and no doubt many will enjoy his entertaining narrative. But the reader who seeks insight and understanding into why our society privileges technology at the expense of nature will need to look elsewhere.
Still, I think Christianson has succeeded in his mission of writing a great book for the general interest science reader. It should help further the cause of making the science of global warming an increasingly popular topic of conversation in our society.
A great synopsis..........2001-11-04
Gale Christianson gives a wonderful, dynamic historical account of global warming. Gale addresses so many aspects of the controversy we now know as global warming its difficult to summarize them. She explores 16th and 17th century scientists and their discoveries about the world, from evolution to the impacts of pollution, to the creation of the coal-burning engines that caused England to erect higher and higher smokestacks believing that the smoke would simply float away into the atmosphere. Gale also speaks of the global climate changes that have occurred across the history of humankind as we know it. She explains the tortuous trip that brought the Vikings to settle in Greenland, and the climate shifts that ceased their existence on the frosty continent. She explores the history of the Anasazi and the changes in their biospheres that chased them from their homes built high in the Southwestern US. Gale explains all the differing theories that address the effects of global warming, ending with the fact that we don't really know what the impact will be in the future. She dialogues the negotiations that occurred in Kyoto Japan and the political atmosphere that makes reductions in emissions so difficult. A wonderful account, reads like a novel with dynamic characters, interesting plot changes, and mysteries that may never be solved. Although it does not bring to light anything new to explain global warming, it is a superb overview of global warming as we know it, and why it is such a controversy today.
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- Where Is Baby's Belly Button?
- Where Is Baby's Belly Button?
- Winemaking: From Grape Growing to Marketplace
- Working the Boundaries: Race, Space, and "Illegality" in Mexican Chicago
- A Course in Modern Mathematical Physics: Groups, Hilbert Space and Differential Geometry
- A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens
- Adaptive Filter Theory (4th Edition)
- Algebra and Trigonometry with Analytic Geometry (11th Edition with CD-ROM)
- An Historical Geography of Modern Australia: The Restive Fringe (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Why Didn't I Learn This in College
- The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
- The Cowgirl Companion: Big Skies, Buckaroos, Honky Tonks, Lonesome Blues, and Other Glories of the T
- The House of Rothschild: Volume 1: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Letters and Memos, 2nd Edition
- Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day
- The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin
- Footnotes : What You Stand For Is More Important Than What You Stand In
- Tax Incentives in Developing Countries and International Taxation
- Byron's War: I Never Will Be Young Again
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming (and Environmentalism)
Shattered Consensus: The True State of Global Warming
The Chilling Stars: The New Theory of Climate Change
America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media
